


A Walk in Remembrance

by Illubuu



Series: Dungeons and Dragons [5]
Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game)
Genre: Forest Adventures, Gen, Reminiscing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-06
Updated: 2020-03-06
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:47:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23044234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Illubuu/pseuds/Illubuu
Summary: Mina and Ethnir take a walk, thinking back on where they've come from and where they're going.
Series: Dungeons and Dragons [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1597036
Kudos: 1





	A Walk in Remembrance

“Well now, I don’t think that is very fair.”

“Fair ain’t fun, Ethnir.”

“Fair makes sure  _ everyone _ is having fun.”

“Fair makes sure governments aren’t tyrannical nightmares. This is a card game. Half the fun is the swindle.”

Ethnir sat back in his chair loudly. He leaned his cards against the table and shook his head. “Then I’ve already lost.”

“Oh come  _ on _ !” Mina tossed her cards onto the table and groaned. She tilted her head so she could see out the window. “Why don’t we take a walk?”

“Will this be a competition, too?” Ethnir chuckled to himself. He threw his own cards on the table. “I guess that’s better than losing to cards. Again.”

Mina leapt up from her chair in a singular, fluid motion. “I’ll just have to show you how to cheat sometime. It’s really not that hard, you just need to get sleeves that are big enough to...”

Ethnir grabbed the door, letting Mina prattle on as they walked down the hallways of the church. He had to be sure to mind his steps, that he didn’t accidently leave her too far behind. It was also quite entertaining to watch her hair bounce and she spoke with so much animation. Ethnir absently wondered if her hair was truly that vibrant of a color or if she dyed it - though the question was quickly answered as he looked a tad closer, seeing a set of deep reddish roots.

The church pews were quite empty that evening, only two or three of the congregation sat within and waved as he and Mina passed. The last prayers of the day must not be for a while now... or perhaps it had already passed. Ethnir had not a clue how long he and Mina had been played cards for, but it didn’t  _ look _ that late.

Sunset was on its way, just beginning to stain the sky orange. There were few scant clouds laid around the edges of the sky and it was still pleasantly warm out. The trees rustled softly in the breeze, slowly taking over all other sounds as Ethnir and Mina walked beneath them to follow the path into the forest.

“Do you even have any idea where you want to go?”

“Not a damn clue,” Mina laughed. “But we found this place the first time, right?”

Ethnir scrunched up his face. “I don’t see what in the world that has to do with getting ourselves lost.”

“We’re not getting lost.”

“Alright,” Ethnir said, “then which way is back to the church from here?”

Mina turned around and pointed directly behind her. “That way.”

“But the path curves east a ways back, remember?” Ethnir turned to look back down the trail. “You complained because the brush was too thick to just keep heading straight.”

Mina’s finger drooped, then she placed it against her chin. She spun - slowly - in one complete circle. “Ok, well we’re still on the trail so we’ll just follow that back.”

“But you had us take a shortcut between those birch willows.”

“Birch willows?”

“The trees you said looked like they had the itchy spots.”

“Oh yeah...” Mina narrowed her eyes. “Ok, fine, you’ve made your point.”

“Thankfully, I’ve left a string of magic breadcrumbs we can just follow back.”

Mina groaned. “Seriously? Then why even ask?”

Ethnir laughed aloud, nearly choking on his own breath. “I wanted to see if you’d remember.”

“Oh, yeah, absolutely. The dwarf who grew up in the miserable underground complex should totally know what a bitch willow is.”

“Birch willow.”

“Whatever.”

Mina kept her back turned and her mouth silent as she continued forwards.

Ethnir silently brought up the back, watching the light above them change from yellow, the orange, to red, and finally begin to fade to the deep purple of nighttime. He didn’t speak, as it seemed Mina was in no mood to talk. He watched her hair bounce from behind, no longer able to see anything but the bright teal in the moonlight. 

They weaved in between the trees again and again, slipping through narrow pathways and making their own way through the woods. Mina had no rhyme or reason to where they were going, though Ethnir suspected she was purposely picking the ways that lead under the lowest hanging branches.

After the fifth near miss of cracking his head on a tree, Ethnir spoke. “Are we going to be heading back at any point?”

“Why, are you cold?”

“No, I was just.... curious.”

Mina hummed and continued forwards.

Ethnir ducked under another branch. “Listen, I’m sorry if I upset you. I hadn’t meant any harm by it, but I see I inflicted it anyway.”

“You didn’t harm me.”

“Well, I did something because,” Ethnir ducked again, “I don’t think I’ve had to avoid as many branches in my life.”

Mina chuckled. “Wish you were my size now?”

“With the path we’re taking? Yes.”

“Well, too bad!” Mina dashed ahead, zipping in and out of the brush with ease.

Ethnir grunted out a sigh and tried to keep pace. Unfortunately, his long arms kept getting caught on vines that had now decided to start appearing on the trees and his feet were tangled with the thick ferns that covered the forest floor. He could see quite well in the low light - he was thankful he wasn’t Steiner right now - but it didn’t help him much in avoiding the onslaught. He struggled to follow Mina’s laughing, though it was difficult as her voice started to echo. “Mina!”

“How’re the magic breadcrumbs working now?”

“Terribly!”

Mina cackled off to his right and Ethnir changed course. The trees were getting too close together for him to easily slip through and the fallen trees were too low for him to go under, but too high for him to step over. The only respite was the trees no longer had branches low enough to hit him. 

“Come on, slowpoke!”

Ethnir stopped to listen. Now she was somewhere to his  _ left _ . He sighed and started off that way. The forest was slowly turning into something more akin to a grove as the ferns grew more sparse and the walking became easier. Ethnir tilted his head up to see the small streams of moonlight filtering in through the canopy. He turned once in a circle and caught a glance of Mina’s hair, beelining for it. He followed it to a small clearing, shaped almost perfectly like a triangle, and found Mina sitting in the middle awash in white light. His walking slowed as his eyes trailed over the area. “Wow.”

Mina looked up. “See what a little adventure will get you?”

Ethnir walked to meet Mina in the center. With the lack of low branches, he could see quite a distance. He could even make out where the denser area of the forest started, it being a much deeper green than the rest. “I wonder what this place is."

"Do these not naturally occur?"

"They can," Ethnir said, though he'd only seen these in places of incredible natural magic pools. He didn't feel that here. It was just... a normal part of the forest. "It doesn't seem artificial."

Mina hummed. "Did you know the dwarves make faux trees from scrap metal?"

Ethnir was a bit caught off guard by the question. He chewed on his words for a moment. The image of metal trees made him... sad. "No, I didn't."

"While us dwarves do live our lives underground, we get just as much out of sunshine and nature as anyone else. But instead of having the freedom to go up and see the surface, we have mandated 'Greenhouse Days' where we have to stay with these plants for a whole hour. Corporate thinks it 'increases morale'. A buncha horseshit."

"And those are metal trees?"

"No, no, very real trees. But you have to use your Workerman's ID to get in and you're only allowed in if you're scheduled. Your manager forgets? Well, sucks to be you." Mina sighed, plopping down in the grass. "So some people make their own trees to hide in their houses."

Ethnir sat beside Mina. "That sounds awful."

Mina shrugged. "We made do. My mom made one for us when I was little. If I know her, it's still up in the living room. My sister and I used to argue over who got to put it in their room."

"Do you miss them?"

"Sometimes. I try not to think of them too much or I might turn around and head home, just for their sake. But that wouldn't be good for anyone."

"I understand." Ethnir paused. "What were they like?"

Mina smiled, her eyes gazing up into the trees. "My little sister - her name is Vesna - was a nightmare. Not like... terrible you know, but always taking my things, following me about. She almost caught the house on fire trying to weld herself a bracelet from  _ my _ cassette cases. Do you have any idea how much those are worth?"

"Cassettes?" Ethnir blinked.

"They're like... little boxes that can record and play music. They're just a dwarven thing I guess. Anyway, a lot of them come in these metal cases with art on the cover from each band or artist. I had a whole bunch that were first edition. Thankfully I caught her before she melted those."

Ethnir had never heard of such a thing. "And they can just... play melodies?"

"Way more than that. They can capture vocals and stuff. I even have a few from my band somewhere in my pack."

_ "Your _ band?" Ethnir laughed. He had never considered it before, but Mina being in a band made perfect sense. "You had a band?"

Mina seemed to brighten ten degrees and her eyes lit up. "I never told you? Yeah! The Blue Sky Strings!”

“Sounds idealistic.”

“There were five- er, four of us that came regularly. Tanya was kind of iffy. In and out of jail and all that. Nothing too serious though.” Mina counts off on her fingers. “There was me, Danica, Nabokov, and Kyrilu. And then maybe Tanya. And that fucking asshole Torulf, but he barely counts.”

“Why’s that?”

Mina casts Ethnir a look of disbelief. “The dude was a  _ dick. _ I honestly don’t know why we even had him as a manager. Always out to make a quick coin, even if it had us performing 2 inches from a massive lava pit.” She shakes her head. “But enough about him. I met Danica playing out some rhythms on some old piping in the Ducts for tips and decided to join her. We talked and she mentioned that she had a few friends that played, too, and asked if I wanted in on their jam sessions. Not like I had much else to do... and Danica was quite a looker, so I agreed.”

“The ducts?” Ethnir asked.

“They’re these massive maintenance ducts that run throughout the underground complexes. They’re hidden away from the public eye and old as shit so a lot of people go there to relax and enjoy their time off.” Mina paused. “And to do illegal stuff, but that is beside the point.” 

“Alright, so you meet up with Danica...?”

“Oh! Yeah! So we meet up in this quiet area of the Ducts and I meet Nabokov first. He was the stiff and silent type, I don’t think anyone even knew his first name, not even Danica. The guy was tatted like crazy and strong as a pile driver. He played bass and, honestly, I can’t see him playing anything else. He was mean with his time signatures though, an off-beat genius. Danica was the only one that could follow his flips on first try.”

Ethnir nodded along, watching Mina grow more and more animated as she spoke. Her hair started bouncing all about her face.

“And then Kyrilu showed up. Poor Kyrilu. One of the nicest people I’d ever met in the factories. He played keyboard and while his technique wasn’t the best, the kid just exuded music. I swear, he could hear melodies in the creaks and groans of the old piping.

“So I join in on this first jam sesh and we all hit it off perfect. We fit together like nut and bolt. I agree to come back again and two weeks later, there’s talk of making ourselves a formal band. At first our name was the Stardust Crusaders, but that was only because we let Kyrilu write up our official documents. First time we got called up on stage I swear to God, Nabokov looked like he could murder. Moreso than he usually did.”

Ethnir snorted. “The Stardust Crusaders?”

Mina chuckled alongside him. “We changed that quick. Our first performance as the Blue Sky Strings was at this little bar tucked away in one of the oldest section of the Ducts. That place had been running since before my Grandfather was born. I have no idea how Torulf got us in there, but he did.”

“So you guys actually performed? Like for an audience?”

Mina gave Ethnir another ‘are you serious?’ look. “Of course we did, we were a  _ band. _ We played ‘Racket Racket’ first and Ethnir, I swear to you, I have never seen a crowd of dwarves rowdier than the audience that night. It was such an amazing feeling, like a powerful swelling in your chest.” Her voice trailed off as she looked to the treeline. “I don’t quite remember what we played after that... ‘Turned Around’, maybe. Or ‘Sites of Black’. Either way, we were a hit. Those four months after that performance were some of the craziest of my life. I wonder what would have happened if the revolution hadn’t hit.”

“You mentioned the revolution before,” Ethnir said. “That you were a part of it.”

Mina hummed in agreement. “Yeah, the Ducts were always full of the anarchists and anti-government boys, but it really started stirring up about a half a year after we first performed. We started seeing Gnomes in and out of the Ducts, but it was Tanya who let us in on the big secret. They were banding up to take the upper levels.”

“I’m assuming those are the... leader’s areas?”

“Management, the fuckwads. I guess the Gnomes had sent come people down to help us take on those bastards. Too bad it didn’t work out that way.”

“The revolution wasn’t successful?”

Mina shook her head. “It was, I guess. We made it up to the top and took care of those in charge. If that’s what you call success.”

Ethnir didn’t say anything. He could see the mixture of emotions playing out on Mina’s face, so instead he waited.

“Disko... I mean, I don’t think us Dwarves even needed help. We should’ve just told those asses to shove it. Things probably would have been better that way. Might have took longer but...”

Ethnir nodded. “What about your band mates. Were they part of the resistance?”

“Tanya was before anyone even knew what was going on. Nabokov kinda disappeared once the skirmishes turned into all out blitz attacks. Danica and I were a tag team throughout, whether we were together or not.”

“Together?” Ethnir raised a brow. “Like... together together?”

Mina laughed. “Yes, we were in a relationship. Rocky and on and off, but a relationship nonetheless. We seemed to come together at the worst of times.”

“I know how that feels.”

This time Mina raised a brow, but continued. “Kyrilu really didn’t like the violence. He honestly believed if we worked hard enough, we could pull ourselves out of the cesspit. He tried to support us, but as the revolution became more important than the band, he kinda... disappeared, too. I’m so so thankful he pushed us to record our songs, though. He actually gave them to us the last time we saw him. I guess in hindsight it was a way for him to say goodbye.”

“I’m sorry, Mina.”

Mina made a  _ pfft _ noise. “Don’t be sorry. Those people are parts of my favorite memories. We lived in a hellhole, sure, but those people made it something worth remembering. And even if all I have are those recordings... well, then that’s just how it is.”

“But it shouldn’t have been that way,” Ethnir replied. “You should be playing in a band, not stuck out here fighting goblins and Gods.”

“It sure doesn’t feel like it,” Mina mumbled. “But part of what made making music so fun and what made us what we were  _ was _ the situation we were in. Playing music was a release for all of us, an expression of freedom. I don’t know if that first performance as a band would have felt the same if we didn’t have the past that we did.”

Ethnir leaned back on his hands. “I would love to hear this music.”

“You elves don’t have much punk, do you?”

“Punk?” Ethnir looked to Mina, a smile playing on his lips. “Is that... a word I should know?”

_ “Exactly. _ You guys have all this traditional stuff, nothing with energy! I mean, I was surprised to see a performer like Lollie in an elven city. I figured you were all too stuffy for that.”

“We are  _ not _ stuffy,” Ethnir countered. “Mal’allave is a very forward moving city. We can enjoy something with a bit more... oomph.”

Mina laughed. “Oomph? You haven’t even heard oomph. Not the way we do it.”

“Then perhaps you should enlighten me.”

“Well, if you can find one of those cassette playing machines, I will enlighten you to the oomphs of the Blue Sky Strings.”

Ethnir nodded. “Deal. What do they look like?”

“They’re about the size of a horse and I’ve only ever seen them in the illegal bars in the Ducts.”

“I see.”

“Good luck!” Mina chuckled. She stood up and brushed off her pants, spinning around in a circle. She frowned. “Speaking of finding, do you know the way out of here?”

Ethnir sat up, squinting his eyes. Somehow, the entirety of the forest had changed since the last time he had looked at it. He could still see where the forest was denser, but that was almost a good fourth of what he could see. He had completely forgotten to leave his breadcrumbs when Mina had run off. He gave Mina a weak smile. “Not a damn clue.”


End file.
